Freitag, 28. Februar 2014

Earlier this year figures came out that Germany was using more lignite. There was a lot of false reporting on this, blaming Germany´s nuclear phase out for rising emissions etc.. So my colleagues over at the excellent Energydesk of Greenpeace UK asked me to write a rebuttal. Which you can read here.

Below is a longer version of the piece, in which I reflect a little bit more on perceptions of the UK in Germany and vice versa. After all, they are the two countries I have lived in longest in my life.

So, let´s be honest: Not just the Sun and (the
German equivalent) BILD find it difficult to move beyond simplistic stereotypes
when it comes to perceptions of Germany in the UK, and vice versa. In Germany,
the ignorance is illustrated simply: Even the most educated Germans refer to
the UK as “England” and think that you are being pedantic when you point out
that that is plain wrong (ok, they may have that in common with some Etonians
…).

The inability to see nuances afflicts Left
as well as Right. When I was studying politics at Edinburgh in the 1990s,
Germany was idolized by many of the Left as the ideal opposite of Marquand´s “Unprincipled Society” description of the UK, for example. Like with all
stereotypes, there was some truth in that: Germany´s state, to this day,
remains stronger in many ways than the UK´s. And that has real impacts. Housing
conditions (insulation, anyone?) are very different in the two countries, for
example, reflecting much higher standards in Germany.

The Right, meanwhile, never tires of telling
the tale of how overregulated
Germany is. As anyone who has suffered through the Kafkaesque absurdities
of German bureaucracy will know, there is also some truth in that. But that
perception overlooks many areas – not least labour regulation – where Germany
has quietly experienced a neoliberal revolution of its own (just witness the
fact that Germany will not introduce a nationwide minimum wage until 2015 –
even New Labour managed that!).

Given these projections rather than
perceptions, it is not surprising that the perception of the German energy
transition often lacks nuance in the UK. Every time I visit the UK, I get asked
“whether I still think the nuclear phase out is a good idea as emissions are
rising as a result”. And every time I have to point out that there is no
connection, and that saying that there is, well, a
simplistic lie.

As no nuclear capacity was
decommissioned in 2013, the nuclear phase out clearly has nothing to do with the increased use of lignite (and by the way, no
nuclear capacity was decommissioned in 2012 either, nor is any planned to be
taken off the grid in 2014).

in classic economics - as
lignite is being burnt in old, “written off” plants that can, as a result, make
huge profits easily. And in – equally “classic”-

market failure - as
externalities are not reflected in energy prices (which means that the huge
health costs of lignite, for example, are born by society and the tax payer,
not the energy producers).

At a political level, the rise of lignite (and
indeed Germany´s continued reliance on coal overall), is due to the fact that
in Germany -
much like the UK - a small number of huge energy firms control too much of
the energy market. And hold excessive
power over politicians. It´s that power dynamics across Europe, that has
resulted in an ETS that fails to make lignite - the most carbon intensive of
all energy sources – uneconomic, as any policy instrument trying to limit
carbon emissions surely should. It is because too
many German politicians are in cahoots with the coal industry, that makes
them shy away from the action needed to fix that market failure or take
additional regulatory measures (such as a coal
phase out law).

So Germany´s Energiewende is neither
Nirvana nor to blame for everything that goes wrong. It´s a contested policy
arena. And yes, in Germany, too, public interest often loses out in the face of
vested interested.

But that means that we are in this
together. Rather than say “look, the Energiewende is failing”, it would be
great if you in the UK responded to the rise of lignite use by stepping up
efforts to fix the ETS and/or thinking through with us how we can advance European-wide
ways to speed up the uptake of renewables (a no brainer, given how fast installation
costs are coming down). A rational response to Germany´s rising lignite use is
to demand - in the UK as well as Germany – an end to the excessive power of a
few all too powerful energy giants.

Next time I visit the UK, I hope we can
talk in a nuanced way about our common need to make our energy policies answer
to people and planet, and not be overly influenced by vested interests. Are you
interested?

Introducing myself, Daniel Mittler

I am the Political Director of Greenpeace International, heading their Political and Business Unit. I am leading a global team of specialists working on issues ranging from protecting the High Seas to disrupting dirty business models and toxic trade deals. We are responsible for internal strategy advice to campaigns and external representation at global political and business fora. I am a member of the Global Program management team and from September 2014 to June 2015 also managed the Actions and Science Units (two of my favourite parts of Greenpeace). I have also served on the senior management team of Greenpeace’s global forest campaign and on the European Executive Committee.

From 1997-2000 I was a researcher at the Bartlett School of Planning at University College London. I was looking at achieving sustainabilty in cities; mainly because I love cities. The year before, I was living in Bonn serving my country by writing press releases for the youth-wing of Friends of the Earth Germany (BUNDjugend).

Berlin, where I have lived - with a couple of breaks (in Oxford and Amsterdam) - since 2000, is now the (other) place I call home. To be precise: Kreuzberg.

I love kayaking, reading, going to the theatre and cinema, hiking, music (I still try to play the cello) - all the usual middle class stuff. I have a way too loud laugh, but at least I manage to laugh. What really excites me is making the world at the same time a more just and greener place - and creating spaces where people can get active. So, do something!